1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drug delivering device having a mechanism for dissolving a drug in a transfusion liquid which is administered to a subject.
2. Description of the Related Art
Intravenously administered drugs are usually given to a patient or subject after they are dissolved in a transfusion liquid. Generally, many drugs are provided in the form of powder contained in a container such as a vial. To date, very laborious or time-consuming operations have been taken to ultimately introduce powdery drugs into the transfusion liquid. Specifically, a portion of the transfusion liquid is sucked in a syringe, and injected into a vial which contains the powdery drug to partially dissolve the drug in the injected liquid. Such a sucking operation and injecting/dissolving operations are repeated, until all of the powdery drug is introduced into the transfusion liquid. These operations need to be done under sterile conditions, but it is difficult to maintain a sterile state during such complicated operations.
Devices which allow for a simplified dissolving operation of drugs are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,804,366; 4,936,829; and 5,024,657. However, there still exists a need for a drug delivering device having a mechanism for dissolving a drug in a transfusion liquid under sterile conditions and delivering the drug together with the transfusion to a subject.